


You look like you're not boring

by Moppipoika



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Bribery, F/M, Gift Work, Humor, Moriarty gets what he wants, One Shot, POV First Person, Romance, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 07:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12031524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moppipoika/pseuds/Moppipoika
Summary: “But I said it to Jake,” I said slowly so I could keep up with my thoughts. “And you still know I said it. Are you like.. spying on me or something?”“Spying?” He repeated with a laugh. “No no, I wouldn’t call it spying. I’m just... highly interested in you.”“So you’re spying on me,” I gave him a teasing smirk. “You know, stalkers don’t usually show up with a limo, expecting the other to come with them.”“Usually when people are stalked, they don’t go to the movies with their stalker."





	You look like you're not boring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kkiitsu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kkiitsu/gifts).



> This one has been keeping me up for the past weeks, and I'm glad I finally got it done! It's my first fic ever in the Sherlock fandom and I'm so so excited (and a little scared) to share it with the world!  
> Wrote it for one of my dearests friends kkiitsu and I really hope you all like it :)
> 
> To kkiitsu, honey, take this as thanks for all the love you've given me during the years, and let's pretend that I remembered it was our 7 years of friendship anniversary and I wrote this as a gift ;) Really do love you <3

“How much did we have again?”

I let out a short laugh as I playfully nudged my brother’s side: “You really need to work on your memory, Jake. I told you, like five minutes ago, that we have about fifty pounds.”

“We really got that much? Unbelievable,” Jake shook his head with a smile playing on his lips, and I couldn’t agree more.

“I know, right? I thought we’d be left with like under twenty.”

We had played a small gig at some crappy corner café the day before, and judging by the place’s customers we were supposed to be left with close to no money at all, but we had managed to get a fifty! I still couldn’t believe that that kind of audience would’ve tipped us so much, but since I still had the money in my wallet, it had to be true.

“So, what are you getting?” Jake’s question forced me to come back to the moment from the memories of the gig. “I know I’m getting a steak. Haven’t had a proper steak in months,” he told me, petting his belly as he spoke.

“I’ll get something with mushrooms,” I tried to remember the menu of the restaurant we were heading to celebrate our successful night. “I don’t remember what they have, but if they something with chicken and mushrooms, it’ll be like heaven for me,” I grinned and felt my stomach growl as my hunger grew bigger from dreaming about food. “And dessert.”

“Oh, definitely dessert,” Jake nodded with a smirk.

“Like, a piece of cake and some ice cream.”

“Oh! Chocolate cake and ice cream!” I earned an angry glare when I laughed at Jake’s dreams. “What?”

“Don’t dream too big,” I warned him with a playful grin, “You don't know if they have it.”

We eventually reached the restaurant, and I immediately felt really out of place: there were people having a fancy lunch in suits with their colleagues, and then there was me and Jake with our trashed jeans and colorful hairs.

“Are you sure?” I whispered and searched for Jake’s hand so I could hold it to calm myself down. “We don’t really fit in here.”

“Who cares as long as we got money?” Jake laughed with a shrug, practically dragging me into the restaurant with him.

We sat down at a small table for two, and almost the same second my ass touched the seat a waitress came to us with two menus and a wide, warm smile. She welcomed us and took our orders for drinks. It felt fancy to order a coke, when usually if I happened to have the money to eat at a restaurant I would’ve ordered water. The waitress recommended some red wine, but I didn’t dare to let myself get that wild.

In silence, we read through the menus, and for my surprise, there actually was a dish with chicken and mushrooms. It also had pasta, cheese, and cream in it, and I was pretty sure it was gonna be the best thing I’ve eaten during the last six months.

After a while, the waitress came back to us with two tall glasses full of coke, and she took our orders; the chicken stuff for me, and a steak for Jake.

“This is the best way to use the money, honestly,” Jake laughed lowly when the waitress had walked away with our orders. “I’d be more than happy to spend all my money on food.”

“Well,” I smirked as I leaned against the table to get closer to Jake so I wouldn’t feel like I had to scream at him. I was pretty sure talking too loudly would get us some unwanted attention from the other customers. “I don’t mind eating a bit cheaper food, cause I love spending my money on makeup and clothes.” It was true, and that was how I usually used my money; I ate the cheapest noodles and frozen vegetables so I could save money and use it on makeup.

Makeup was kinda like a hobby for me. I simply loved everything about it; the beautiful colors, the endless possibilities and how I could transform myself into a completely different person if I felt like it. There was nothing better than spending a day off in front of a mirror with a makeup brush in one hand and a glass of cheap wine in the other.

“You’re such a girl,” Jake wrinkled his nose at me, and all I could do was laugh.

“I am,” I gave him a nod, “And I enjoy being one.”

I received an eye-roll from my brother, but I had no time to react to it when our waitress already came back again, now with our orders with her. I was so close to telling her to fuck off already when she stayed to tell us to enjoy; I just wanted to stuff the pasta in my face already and she was holding me back.

The second we were alone with Jake again, I practically attacked my heavenly delicious meal. We didn’t waste any time talking. We just enjoyed the expensive flavors we only had money for, like, once every three months tops.

“What now?” I asked, not trying to hide the annoyance in my voice at all when the waitress once again came to us.

“I-I’m sorry to bother you, miss,” she stuttered with blushed cheeks and I immediately felt a little bad for her. “I just, I had to come give you t-this,” she told me as he offered me a small envelope which I hesitantly accepted.

“Okay?” Was all I managed to get out as I stared at the envelope in my hands.

“It’s from the man at the corner table,” the waitress whispered, now with an allusive smile on her lips.

Without really thinking about it I turned a bit to see who the waitress was talking about, but all I managed to see before quickly turning back to my own table, was a pair of dark eyes and a one-sided smile that sent shivers down my spine.

“But why?”

“He didn’t tell me, neither did he mention his name,” she shrugged, “he just ordered me to get you this.”

I stared at her, then Jake, and then at the envelope again. I didn’t understand. It had to be a joke, hadn’t it? I didn’t know the man, and he couldn’t possibly know me.

“Well open it up!” Jake hurried me impatiently, almost snatching the envelope from my hands but I managed to pull it away just in time.

“I will,” I mumbled, giving an angry eye at the waitress until she understood it was better to leave me and Jake alone.

With shaky hands, I ripped the envelope open, and my feelings about it being some kind of a prank only got worse. I could feel my brother’s eyes burning on me. “It’s uh, no, it can’t be.”

“What, Jane?”

“A gift card,” I managed to breathe before the small piece of paper dropped from my hand and floated a few inches away from me, almost landing on the table before Jake caught it.

“Holy shit! It’s a 500-pound gift card?!”

Jake’s words rang in my ears and swirled around in my head for a long time. It couldn’t be? And if it was, then why? And from who? There was no way I was gonna believe that a mysterious man sitting in the corner would randomly present us a gift card worth of 500 pounds.

“We have to leave,” I soon whispered, but Jake decided to think different: “I’m not leaving, are you mad? Someone just gave us a shit ton of money, and you’re just gonna run away without saying anything?”

Slowly I peeked over my shoulder towards the man again. The dark eyes were glued to me with an expression I couldn’t read, and even though the man still had that half a smile on his lips he didn’t look like he was particularly happy. It was definitely meant to tell me something, but I couldn’t tell what and I was not gonna stay to figure it out.

“I’m leaving,” I informed my brother as I forced myself to turn away from the man at the corner table. “You can keep the money or not, I don’t care,” I got up from the table, leaving Jake to stare at me in disbelief, “but if you do eat something with the money, bring me leftovers.” I gave him a quick smirk before practically running out of the restaurant.

It had definitely been too much for me. I had no idea what the man had thought when cashing a 500-pound gift card and then giving it to us. Was it some kind of flirting? Had he heard our conversation and decided to give us money for some proper meal? It was weird and scary, and I was happy to be out of there.

Even happier I was when I reached my apartment. I let out a tired sigh as I let myself collapse on my bed; I was exhausted from the gig the night before and the classes I had been to this morning, so a warm soft bed was more than welcome to drown me in it.

But no, someone had to ring the doorbell twice the second my head hit the pillow. “If it’s Jake I’m gonna fucking slaughter him,” I muttered to myself as I forced myself up from the depths of the bed to open the apartment door. It was a mistake. A huge mistake.

“A flower delivery for Miss Jane McDonnell,” a man in a wine red suit informed me before stepping aside so that two other could bring in a huge pile of roses. Actually, it was more of a bush. 

“A flower- “I stopped for a moment, “from who?” The man offered me a small card with text on it: You know.

I had a bad feeling about it, but I was gonna pretend I had no idea who it was from cause only the thought of a random man giving me money and a bush of flowers felt just a little too much for me.

“I can’t possibly accept it,” I gave the delivery man an apologizing smile as I took a step back from the door. “I mean, it doesn’t even fit my apartment,” I nervously laughed, and even though it wasn’t the reason I wasn’t gonna accept the idiotic gift the mystery man had sent me, it was true. My apartment was small; one room, a little kitchen corner and a bathroom where I wouldn’t even be able to fit into if I gained a few pounds. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” the man flashed me a nervous smile, “have a good evening then.”

I closed the door before he had even had the time to turn on his heels; I just wanted to be left alone and go to bed so I could have a nice three-hour nap before I’d have to start getting ready for the movie I had promised my friend we would go see.

Once again I let myself sink into the depths of my incredibly soft bed, and suddenly my alarm went off and I realized I had dozed off.

After checking my phone to make sure I had actually woken up right away and not after the alarm had been ringing for an hour I got up, fetched myself some clean clothes and headed to shower. I hated showering, but I also hated smelling bad and having people tell me I smell bad, so it was a sacrifice I had to do.

It took me about an hour and a half to get myself clean, dressed up and my face painted. The only problem left was my hair; the green locks of hair were far too curly for my taste, and they were wildly pointing out to all possible directions making me look like a feather duster.

“Why on earth did you cut your hair this short?” I frustratedly asked my reflection as I combed through the green tangles. “It never tangled like this when it was longer.”

After violently combing and straightening my hair for almost half an hour I was finally ready. I gathered the essentials, like my phone and keys, into my purse and took a final look at myself from a full body mirror before heading out of the apartment.

I was so exhausted from getting ready that I almost decided not to go, but I had not spent all that time preparing myself just to stay home after all. No way. And even though I had decided to wear the most uncomfortable pair of high heels I owned, I was gonna go; I wouldn’t waste such perfect smokey eyes. 

Lucky for me I didn’t live too far away from the center of the town and the cinema, but it was still pure torture to walk with those shoes. I had to walk a lot faster and with shorter steps than usual to keep the worst pain away; long or slow steps just made it worse.

When I reached the movie theater's courtyard my phone started ringing, and I had to stop so I could find it from my purse. It was horrible, standing still hurt my feet even more than walking.

“Oh, hi Amanda,” I smiled as I pressed the phone to my ear and started walking in little circles, “you know I just arrived at the movie theater.”

“Oh,” Amanda didn’t sound too happy, “I was calling about that. Uh, the thing is, I kinda have to cancel tonight.”

I felt the world collapse. “What? Why didn't you call me earlier?” I tried not to sound too angry, “I mean, I just spent two hours, if not more, getting ready! You could’ve called earlier!” I didn't exactly succeed on not sounding angry since my talking had turned into screaming. 

“I’m sorry, Jane,” Amanda sounded like she really was sorry, and I felt even worse, “but I have to stay home and watch my sister cause mum had to go to the hospital with grandma.”

I wanted to cry. “It’s not your fault, Amanda,” I sighed, “I’ll see you later.” 

I wanted to scream, curl up into a ball on the ground and cry. I wanted to cause a childish scene because my friend couldn’t come to the movies with me. I didn’t really even understand why I was being like that, it wasn’t the end of the world. I was a grown ass woman and I could go to movies alone; I didn't need a friend with me.

But I didn’t want to go alone, it was bound to be boring; I needed someone to talk to during movies so I wouldn’t seem like a total nutcase cause I always commented on everything, even if I was alone.

“So,” a man’s voice made me turn around so I could see who was talking, “all alone, are we?” He was standing partly in the shadows, his dark eyes fixed on me and his hands in his pockets.

“Do I know you?” I furrowed as I tried to figure out why he seemed so familiar.

“Well, you certainly should,” he sneered with an amused smile that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared in the first place.

I stared at him in confusion. I tried and tried but couldn’t remember where I should know him from. It was starting to piss me off, and apparently, he was starting to get pretty annoyed too. 

“Tick-tock,” he dramatically rolled his eyes. “I don’t have all night,” he told me, not trying to hide his utter boredom at all, no, his voice was dripping with boredom and pure annoyance. And that’s when it hit me.

“You’re the guy from the restaurant!” I almost yelled, feeling a little bit too excited about the fact that I remembered some creepy guy who had given me a shit ton of money for no reason.

“Finally,” he sighed and took his other hand from his pocket so he could throw a glance at his watch. “I was getting a little worried that your simple brains wouldn’t be able to connect the dots,” his hand went back into his pocket, “that would’ve been a bummer.”

I watched how a quick smile paid a visit on his lips before he took a few, lazy steps closer. I tried to figure out his expression, tried to read him, but it felt impossible.

“It was you,” I heard myself whisper, and I took a small step backward. “You sent those flowers.”

“Oh bravo!” He laughed rather dryly, but still with a little hint of amusement in his voice, clapping a few times as if he was applauding me. “It only took you a good five hours to figure that one out.”

“It didn’t!” I felt somewhat offended; I had known the second I had gotten the flowers. Or I had suspected it, but who cares about such little details anyway. “I knew right away.”

He shook his head with a clearly amused smile on his lips now. “Did you?” He took a few steps, closing the distance between us, tilting his head a bit as he did so. His eyes were wandering on me like he was examining me or searching for something, and even though he had a curious look on his face, I still couldn’t read his eyes.

“I d- “ I stopped to rethink about it. I hadn’t known for sure, but I had had suspicions; did it count? I mean, my suspicions had turned out to be true, but had I known? “I didn’t,” I finally whispered, kinda amazed about the process my thoughts had just gone through. It wasn’t like me at all to start analyzing my own actions and thoughts. “I mean, I had suspicions about it, but I didn’t really know until now.”

His smile grew a bit wider, and he looked rather proud. “You’re such brave girl!” He praised me with a somewhat babbling voice like he was talking to a child. “Now, what’s the next thing you need to ask?”

I furrowed in confusion; I needed to ask something? Why? I didn’t know him and it was weird enough to even talk with him after what he had done, so why would I have to ask him something? “I don’t need to ask you anything,” I told him, still feeling confused. “I just want to leave cause my movie’s starting.”

“You’re not- “ his voice was angry and loud, but he stopped mid sentence to let out a short laugh. After quickly glancing towards the sky, his voice became much softer, but it still didn’t leave me thinking if he was serious or not: “You’re not going anywhere before you ask the question.”

“I don’t understand what you want from me, or what you want me to do!”

“I want you to figure it out, you idiot!”

My heart skipped a beat. What had I done? I didn’t understand at all, and now I was scared. I wanted to cry and run away, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t do any good. “Who are you?” I tried quietly.

He simply shook his head, his dark eyes fixed on mine.

“What’s your name?” He still didn’t look happy. “Why me?” He shook his head again. “Why are you here?” It was still wrong. “Why are you doing this?”

His eyes lit up. “Ding ding ding!” He almost singsang, all the anger gone from his eyes. “See? It wasn’t that hard when you just stopped being an idiot.”

I sighed. I just wanted to leave. “So, why do you do this then?”

“Because you intrigue me,” he answered with serious eyes. “Because you look like you’re not.. boring.”

I blinked and stared at him stupidly. I looked like I wasn’t boring? What the hell did that even mean? Was it a compliment? Was I supposed to be scared? “I, uh, I have to go,” I mumbled slowly, taking a few steps back. “The movie... I don’t wanna be late.”

“No need,” he had a cocky smile on his lips as he took the same amount of steps closer to me that I had taken away from him. “I’m taking you.”

“What?”

“Oh, don’t play stupid with me,” he sighed, sounding rather annoyed again. “You heard me, I’m taking you to the movie.”

I wanted to ask him why, but I didn’t dare. I didn’t want to be called an idiot again. “Well, can I at least know your name?” I carefully asked, and a small smile played on his lips.

“Moriarty.”

I nodded. “I guess you know my name already?”

“Of course.”

It wasn’t a surprise, but it still sent shivers down my spine; like it hadn’t been creepy and weird enough to get a delivery straight to my home from a complete stranger who wasn’t supposed to know anything about me.

“C’mon, we don’t wanna be late, now do we?” Moriarty asked as he started walking towards the main doors of the movie theater. 

I shook my head as an answer and quickly walked up to him. I didn’t understand what I was still doing there. He was a stranger who had randomly given me a 500-pound gift card, figured out my home address and sent me a freaking bush, and had followed me to the cinema to talk to me because I seemed like I wasn’t boring. The fact that he has done all that just to get my attention made me scared, but at the same time, I was curious. I was curious to see what he was like, why he was like that and what he wanted from me.

As we entered the movie theatre, I noticed for the first time that there was nobody. The place was completely empty except for the two of us and a couple of employees walking around. It was like entering a huge, abandoned haunted house. I wanted to grab Moriarty’s hand to feel safe, but I knew it wouldn’t help since he was the reason I was scared in the first place.

“Why are we alone in here?” My question came out as a whisper as I turned my eyes to the man walking beside me.

“I rented the place,” he answered simply, looking like it had been the only normal thing to do when you wanted to see a movie with someone.

“Why?”

“I can’t focus on you if there are hundreds of idiots around me.”

I gave him a nod since I had no idea how to respond to that. I was flattered and creeped out. Maybe I was supposed to be grateful because he was a man who wanted to spend time with me, and it was kinda a miracle itself. It was a bit overboard to rent the whole fucking movie theater, but I felt like I wasn’t supposed to complain about that kind of attention.

I followed Moriarty into one of the theaters and took a seat next to him. “You wanted to see the new Saw?” He asked, but it didn't really feel like a question.

“Yeah,” I gave him another nod, staring at the screen like he did. “But you already knew that.”

A wide smile flashed on his lips: “You’re getting the hang of this.”

It didn't take long for the room to turn dark, and the movie was projected on the white screen. For nobody’s surprise, it was the new Saw I was supposed to come watch with Amanda. What did surprise me, though, was the fact that it made me scared. The older parts had never closed me feel scared or disgusted, but this one did manage to do so.

Not once during the movie did I notice Moriarty taking his eyes off of me; he intensively stared at me for the whole time instead of the film playing in front of us. Once again I didn’t know if I was supposed to be flattered or just plain afraid because of it.

When the movie was over and the lights were lit up again, I heard myself sigh from relief. It was over and I had survived it, even though I hadn’t even had any idea about how scary it was gonna be. In silence, we walked out of the room and out of the building.

“Why didn’t you watch the movie?” I asked as we walked down the few stairs outside right after coming out the doors.

“It bored me,” he shrugged. Again, he said it like it should’ve been obvious.

“And I didn't?” I asked quietly.

“You didn’t,” I could’ve sworn I saw a smile on his lips, but it was quickly gone.

For some reason it caused a warm bubble to appear in my stomach. He thought I wasn’t boring, he thought I was worth renting a whole movie theater so he could stare at me for the whole time. I knew there was supposed to be huge alarms ringing in my head because of all that, but the warm feeling of being flattered felt much more comfortable than being scared. I mean, I still was scared, but it was kinda slowly drifting away, making room for much nicer thoughts.

“You know I have to go now,” I gave him an apologizing smile, and I wasn’t even sure why. “I have to go to class tomorrow.”

“Yes, you’re free to go now,” Moriarty told me, and when I stared into his beautiful dark eyes, for a moment I thought I saw something that looked like disappointment or sadness.

“It was, uh, interesting to meet you,” I smiled, and it was the truth. It had been interesting. He was interesting.

He gave me a rather weak, half-assed smile before pulling out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and putting them on, turning on his heels after that, silently walking away. After a short moment, I left too, my head full of questions I knew I’d never get answers to.

The next morning was awful; I felt like I hadn’t gotten any sleep even though I had dozed off practically the second I had gotten back home. I had an awful headache and a growling stomach, and when I looked out the window I realized it was raining like someone was pouring it from a bucket. And I was gonna have to walk to school.

With a heavy sigh I got up from the bed and started getting ready; a quick shower without washing my hair, makeup and clothes. After I got myself to look like an actual human being I boiled some water and prepared two pieces of toast, made myself a huge cup of tea and sat down to eat my breakfast.

I took out my phone and dialed Jake’s number as I lazily munched my toasts. “Morning,” I soon heard him answer with a long yawn.

“Morning,” I smiled, feeling how my mood instantly changed for better. “So, have you looked out the window already today?"

“Huh? No? You know damn well I woke up like a minute ago.”

I did know since he always woke up the exact same time every morning except for weekends when he let himself sleep late. “I know, but I just thought maybe you already got yourself to do it,” I chuckled. “Anyway, it’s pouring like hell.”

“Really?” I heard how he rolled over in his bed to get closer to his window so he could see for himself. “Shit, how am I supposed to carry my guitar safely out there? Fuck.”

“I know! There’s no way I’m gonna walk to school, it’ll look like I’ve swum my way there.”

“Well, at least you won’t smell like a wet dog even though you’ll look like one,” Jake laughed, and I could practically hear the stupid grin he had on his face cause he thought he was the funniest person on earth.

“Oh shut up,” I huffed as I got up so I could put away my now empty teacup. “I wouldn’t even look like one if you’d just returned my umbrella after borrowing it last week.”

“What umbrella?”

“The one with the little kittens on it.”

“Oh, right! I didn’t even remember borrowing it.”

I rolled my eyes with an amused smile on my lips. I knew it was my fault I hadn’t gotten it back, I didn’t even know why I had borrowed it to eye-roll in the first place because this was Jake we’re talking about; he never returns anything to anyone because he forgets he even borrowed something the second he doesn’t need the borrowed item anymore.

“I’ll come to your place after school so I can get it back before it goes missing,” I told him as I made my way to my apartment’s door to put on my jacket. “I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

Jake let out a deep sigh like he didn’t want to spend time with me, but who was he kidding? He loved hanging out with me. “Fine.”

“See ya!” I ended the call and threw my phone into my school bag, put on the jacket and my shoes and took a long look in the mirror. “Not your best, but with this weather who even cares,” I smiled at my reflection and gave my hair a quick last shuffle before stepping out of the apartment.

I quickly made my way down the stairs to the main door, and my quite literally jaw dropped as I looked through the door’s windows; a shiny black limo with tinted windows was standing outside the building. I couldn’t help but stare at it in awe. I didn’t belong there. I lived in an area with small, cheap apartments and poor people living in them. There were only a few who even owned a car, and the ones they had were pieces of junk from like the 90’s and cost most likely 800 pounds tops.

And now there was a shining, probably a brand new, limo on our forecourt and I was surprised to realize there weren’t any people like photographing it or something. I for one had never seen anything like it, and if I hadn’t thought it would be embarrassing to take a picture, I would’ve taken one of it.

My phone buzzed and let out a quiet beep in my bag, so I dug it out to check the message I had gotten. It was from an unknown number: “Haven’t got all day.”

I just stared at the text for a moment, feeling nothing but dumb. It couldn’t be Moriarty, right? It just couldn’t. I mean, the guy had already gone pretty far the day before just to get my attention and to talk to me, but.. a limo? It just couldn’t be.

My phone buzzed again; “Tick tock.”

I rolled my eyes and couldn’t stop the smile creeping on my lips. It was him. I didn’t know if it made him creepier or sweeter, but I was mostly just feeling happy about the fact that I was gonna get a ride to school.

I quickly made my way to the backseat of the limo where Moriarty sat with a pretty displeased look on his face, eyeing the building I lived in. I didn’t dare to say anything, so I just awkwardly sat there and stared at my feet.

“You really need to be faster when I call you,” Moriarty finally said and turned his gaze to me.

“Sorry,” I simply mumbled, my eyes still fixed on my shoes. “I was just confused.”

“Confused,” he repeated slowly like he was tasting the word like he didn’t know what it meant. “Ah, yes, I should’ve known that would happen,” he seemed to talk more to himself than to me, and as he finished the sentence, he tapped the window next to him twice and the car start

“So, uh, how did you- “

“My boys figured it out,” Moriarty cut me off with a little hand wave. “And I came to pick you up cause you said you don’t want to walk in this weather.”

I finally raised my eyes to him with my eyebrows raised in even bigger confusion. “But I said it to Jake,” I said slowly so I could keep up with my thoughts. “And you still know I said it. Are you like.. spying on me or something?”

“Spying?” He repeated with a laugh. “No no, I wouldn’t call it spying. I’m just... highly interested in you.”

“So you’re spying on me,” I gave him a teasing smirk. “You know, stalkers don’t usually show up with a limo, expecting the other to come with them.”

“Usually when people are stalked, they don’t go to movies with their stalker,” Moriarty reminded me, locking his eyes on mine. “But I’m not a stalker. I’m someone who finds you interesting, and you share the feeling with me.”

“What?” I furrowed; what did he mean I shared the feeling?

“You find me interesting too,” a small, pleased smile appeared on his lips as he said so and I realized he was right. “You find me fascinating, and you feel flattered because of the attention I’ve given you.”

The car stopped and I realized we had arrived at the university's parking lot. I watched how Moriarty turned his eyes from me to the yard and all the people walking there. I felt somewhat numb and cold when I couldn’t stare into his dark eyes anymore and I wanted to ask him to look at me again, but I didn’t dare. It would’ve been stupid.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. My thoughts were a big mess and I didn’t know how to clear my head enough to think even almost straight. “I- How can you- “ I sighed and took a deep breath right after; I really needed to get my head clear. “How?”

“You’re pretty easy to read,” Moriarty shrugged. “Kind of hard to predict, but easy to read.”

Well, that certainly didn't make me feel flattered at all. “I’m not easy to read!” I stated as I crossed my arms.

“Oh, you are,” Moriarty noted with an amused chuckle and turned back to me.

I stared into his mesmerizing eyes, quickly forgetting about how I was gonna be mad at him for saying so. He was fascinating, I had to give him that. He was like no one I had ever met before, and to be completely honest, I did feel flattered about the things he had done to get to know me.

“I’m gonna see you again, aren’t I?” I heard myself ask, and the pleased smile returned to Moriarty’s lips.

“At eight,” he nodded. “Wear the new dress.”

“What new- “ I stopped when I realized he had bought me a dress, and wanted me to wear it. So he had been confident enough to plan us a date already for the evening, before even asking me. I kinda liked that. “You really have the confidence to plan a date and buy me a dress without saying anything? How’d you know I’d agree to it?”

“Because I’m interesting,” he answered, giving the quickest of grins as he spoke.

I shook my head with a laugh: “And because you can read me so well.”

He tried to hide his amusement, but a smile fought its way to his lips and he had to look away. “Yes,” he finally said shortly, and I wasn’t sure but it seemed like he was holding in a laughter. “Be ready when I come, I don’t like- “

“Waiting cause you’ll get bored, yeah yeah,” I cut him off, and ignored the annoyed look he gave me. “I’ll be ready in time, don’t worry,” I told him with a smile and opened the backseat door. 

“Let’s see if you’ll finally get bored of me,” I laughed as I got up from the car, closed the door and turned to look at him from the window he had opened.

He gave me a half a smile and put on his sunglasses, taking headphones out of his pocket after. “We’ll see,” he nodded before putting the headphones on and closing the window.

I smiled to myself and watched the limo drive off. “I sure hope you won’t.”

The day went by faster than, well, probably ever and before I knew it it was time to go home. Well, I went to Jake’s, but it didn’t matter. What did matter was the fact that I had about five hours before Moriarty was gonna pick me up from my place, and I had to be ready right on time.

So, I decided to practically run my way to Jake’s and arrived there as a breathless sweaty mess. “What’s wrong with you? Did you run or something?” He laughed when he came to open the door for me.

All I managed to do was give him an annoyed look before pushing my way in past him. “Oh,” I heard him say as he closed the door behind us. “So you did run.”

I gave myself the permission to flop on his couch and closed my eyes for a moment. Why had I run? It wasn’t like it had been unavoidable or mandatory, and still, I had decided to do so; so not like me.

“But why?” Jake’s voice asked from a distance, he was probably preparing tea in the kitchen. “I mean, you never run, so why now? You have a date or something coming up?”

I was still way too out of breath to answer him and I had no idea if he could see if I nodded, so I just laid there silently, letting him figure it out.

“No way!” His voice was much clearer and closer this time, so I finally opened my eyes to see him approach me with two steaming cups. “With who? Since when have you been interested in dating?”

I sat up and accepted the cup Jake offered me with a dry laugh. “I’ve always been interested in dating, nobody’s just been interested to do it with me,” I gave him a smirk as I stirred my tea. “You don't know him. I suppose he’s a bit older, but- “

“You don't know his age?”

“Well, no, but who cares anyway? It’s not like he could be my grandpa or anything,” I laughed before taking a careful sip. “We’ve been to the movies already once, that was yesterday, and he asked me out again today and gave me a ride to school with his limo.”

“That was you?” Jake gasped and almost dropped his tea. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He slapped my arm gently. “You’re dating a rich man and you thought it was a good idea not to tell me about it?!”

“It’s only second date and he’s not rich!” I break back. “Or I don’t think so, I don’t know. Who cares if he is!”

“I do!”

“Well yeah but you’re not the one dating him,” I received an eye roll from Jake, “but now that you know about my date, can you give me a ride home so I’ll be ready on time? I can’t- I don't want to be late,” I flashed him a wide smile and hoped for the best. Of course ‘a ride’ in this occasion meant me sitting on the back of his bike while he cycled, or lending the bike to me, but both were better than having to walk.

“I guess I can,” Jake answered slowly with a thoughtful look on his face. “I gotta go to the library anyway, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take you home on the way.”

“Thank you! You’re a lifesaver!”

We finished our teas and Jake got changed as I packed his bag for him to make our leave a little bit quicker. And in no time we were on our way; Jake cycling like he had never cycled before, and me sitting behind him, enjoying the ride and the cold wind on my face.

The truth was it wasn’t really a nice little wind playing with my hair. It felt more like a blizzard turning my face into an ice sculpture, and I couldn’t have been happier when we finally arrived my building’s yard and the bike stopped.

“Thanks, Jake, really,” I smiled with a shaky voice as I got up from the bike. “I’ll run to take a hot shower now.”

“Have fun on your date.”

“I will.”

Without really caring about if Jake had already left or not I entered the building and my warm, cozy apartment.

It didn’t take me more than five minutes to get off my clothes, turn on the shower and step under the hot water. It felt like the water was slowly melting me; my fingers could feel again and my face started to feel like it was made of muscle instead of ice again. It was the best place to be right then and I was never gonna leave.

But the reality was that I had to leave if I wanted to be ready on time. Drying, combing and doing my hair didn’t take me long. The only problem was it was only after I was ready with my curls that I realized I didn’t even know what my dress looked like; would my hair even go with it?

With my hands shaking from excitement and some kind of fear I started to look for the dress. It didn’t take me long to find a small, baby pink box on my kitchen counter and for a moment I wanted to run and never come back. It was true, it was gonna happen, I was going on a date with a stalking stranger who had somehow managed to get my phone number, address, and keys to my apartment.

Probably for the first time I was actually scared; what had I gotten myself into? Why hadn’t I thought about any of that a little earlier, when I still had had a chance to say no to everything. Of course, I still could’ve said no, at least I thought so, but I kind of didn’t want to. No matter how creepy or scary it was that Moriarty had stalked me or whatever, I still kinda liked him. And just like he had said, I found him extremely fascinating.

“Stop it,” I huffed quietly, feeling annoyed with myself. “You’re going, you already promised to!”

With sweaty, shaky hands I opened the box and took the dress out. I had to take a few deep breaths before taking a look. The dress was, thank god, black. It had an open back and the long skirt was full on teeny tiny glitters which caused it to sparkle so bright it almost hurt my eyes. It was a pretty dress, maybe even a little too pretty for me and my wavy hairdo.

“I really hope you know what kind of dress looks good on me cause I have no idea, and I’m pretty sure I’ll look like shit in this,” I mumbled as I started to squeeze myself into the dress, and my words were dedicated to Moriarty even though he couldn't hear me. Well, as far as I knew, he couldn’t hear me.

But oh my had I been wrong about the dress. It looked great on me. It made me look and feel rather sexy even though it was a bit uncomfortable and I wasn’t so sure about the slit on the left side; I was pretty sure my legs didn’t look so great that people would enjoy having to stare at it the whole evening. There was a black mocha choker with a little diamond hanging from it in the box too, and it went more than perfectly with the dress. I really hoped I could keep it after the night, which seemed pretty obvious when I came to think of it; why would he want it back?

After spending a little too much time in front of the mirror I hurried to do my makeup. Now that I had a dress like that, I needed to do something dramatic with dark lips. It took me probably twice the time it normally took to finish my makeup; it needed to be perfect. Not that I cared so much about what Moriarty would think about my bomb ass smokey eyes, but it had to go with the dress. 

“Is it okay now?” I asked from my reflection as I put down one of my brushes and eyed my face closely. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that the time had flown quicker than I had thought, and I only had a good twenty minutes to be out the door. “Well, it has to be. It’s your fault if he hates you after this”, I pointed at my reflection with squinted eyes before I got up and ran off to find myself shoes that would fit the dress.

“I’m gonna be late and he’s gonna be pissed about it,” I mumbled to myself as I desperately went through a box full of high heels. “Then he’ll leave and I’ll be crying and eating ice cream in a very expensive and luxurious dress”, I went on, already rolling my eyes at myself for being like that. I still had time to find myself shoes and a coat. And maybe, just maybe, Moriarty would forgive me for being a little late.

I felt like screaming when I finally found myself some black heels that somewhat went with the dress; they weren’t the best option but it was the best I got. I took the first black jacket I found from the closet and threw it on me, took a quick look in the mirror to realize I actually looked pretty damn good and headed out. Just as I arrived at the building’s main door, a black shiny car drove to the yard.

It wasn’t a limo, but it was brand new and didn’t fit the milieu in any way, so even with tinted windows I knew it was Moriarty. It had to be, cause I had already left the building and quickly made my way to the car. The car was huge, and when I was about to open the door, a man in a black suit jumped out from the front and opened the door for me, helping me hop in the high car. Inside I found Moriarty, looking out the window with an intent look on his face.

“Hi,” my voice was nothing but a whisper, and I saw the corner of his mouth lift a little.

“It’s not forbidden to talk you know”, he told me as he turned his eyes to me and I could feel my cheeks burning. His dark eyes were intensively glued to mine, and it felt like there was a spell I didn’t dare to break. Not that I wanted to; his eyes were beautiful and I could’ve stared at them for the rest of my life.

For the short drive, we were quiet. Moriarty was looking rather relaxed while I felt so anxious I thought I’d blow up soon. It took me all I had in me to keep myself from changing my position all the time or from shaking my legs.

We stopped in front of a tall building made almost entirely of glass, and my first thought was that hopefully, I wouldn’t have to go all the way up cause my fear of heights was so bad I’d probably pass out.

Moriarty got out of the car, offered me a hand and helped me out too. Arm in arm we walked inside. People in dark suits opened all the doors for us calling us mister and miss, my steps echoed sharply in the white halls we walked through. It all felt amazing and awful at the same time. It wasn’t at all a place where I’d pick for a date, but nothing that Moriarty had already done was exactly what I’d normally do or expect for people to do.

When we were finally all alone in a scenic elevator, Moriarty let his eyes fall on me and I couldn’t help but stand there awkwardly and feel my cheeks burn again.

“Just like I had imagined,” he said quietly, a pleased smile dancing on his lips. “You look dashing.”

“Thank you,” I managed to whisper with a shy smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself either,” I soon laughed and carefully lifted my hand to touch the dark fabric his suit.

For a short, a way too short moment I let my hand rest against his chest and drowned in his eyes. “We’re there,” his voice told me softly and he moved my hand away just before the elevator stopped and the doors opened, revealing a huge restaurant with walls full of huge windows.

He led me to our table, ordered the weirdest named wine I had ever heard and something for appetizers. I just sat there and stared at him in awe; half of the words he used I had never even heard of and the other half was some rich people gibberish that no one I knew never used. 

“You know,” I started after our waiter had poured us glasses of wine and left us alone, “you didn’t have to do all this to get my attention.”

“I know,” he mumbled as he raised his glass and swirled the liquid in it around. “But that wouldn’t have been very,” he went silent for a moment as he tasted his wine, “Moriarty-like.”

“So you’re saying that this is how you live?” I asked with raised brows. “You drive limos and have people drive you around, you rent movie theaters to yourself only and eat in places like this?”

Moriarty put down his glass and let his eyes wander on me for a moment before he spoke: "If I feel like it, yes."

"And you know I'm a student who's used to eating noodles or simply drinking tea at bad times, right?"

"Yes."

I furrowed at him feeling a little bit confused. "Then why do you expect me to be interested in you and not your money? I mean, my brother told me to go out with you just for the cash, so how can you trust me not to do so?"

Moriarty eyed me and slowly took another sip from his wine, clearly holding me in some kind of a suspense. I was impatient and wanted to know right away, he knew it and played his cards just right to hold me in his grip. 

"I can see it in you", he finally told me with the self-pleased smile on his lips again. "There's nothing in you that gives away the idea that you'd date someone you don't like. Not even for money. You're here simply because you're curious."

And he was right. I was curious and he was winning me to himself. To be totally honest, he had probably even won already, I just kept telling myself it hadn't happened yet and refused to believe otherwise.

“And you didn’t take the money I gave you,” Moriarty reminded me. “Nobody turns down an offer like that.”

I felt somewhat numb. Had he tested me with offering the money? Or had he already decided at that point that he wanted to get to me? I opened my mouth to ask him, but our waiter came with our food right when I was about to speak, and I kind of forgot what I was gonna say.

The food smelled amazing and tasted even better. I was way too busy enjoying my meal to keep up the talk with Moriarty, even though I did bitch about my classmates at one point, but stopped when I realized he looked like he couldn’t care less. The wine was amazing, and no wonder, I was more than used to drinking the cheap ones and their flavor was in a bit of a different league than this wines.

“Did you enjoy?” The waiter asked as he came to pick up our plates.

“Do I look like I didn’t?” I laughed, but when the waiter didn’t even crack a smile, I fell silent and bit my lower lip awkwardly as I watched him clean the table.

“The balcony’s ready for you, sir,” he soon informed Moriarty and left us after that.

“Balcony?” I cocked an eyebrow at Moriarty and tilted my head a little. I was pretty sure there would be another surprise waiting for me, cause you know, a fancy restaurant with foods costing more than my outfit wasn’t enough.

“Yes,” Moriarty nodded as he got up from his seat. “Like it came as a surprise,” he gave me a teasing smirk and offered me a hand.

“You’re right,” I laughed and took his hand before getting up from my seat. “I should’ve expected at least my own floor or for the restaurant to be empty for us.”

The short laugh Moriarty let out somewhat hinted that he had at least thought about those options but had, for some reason, decided not to go for them. And I couldn’t have been happier about it; an empty restaurant in a place like this would've been more than creepy and uncomfortable.

Arm in arm we walked to the balcony and I had to stop myself from gasping at the view; the sky was painted in all shades of red and orange, and the whole city opened underneath us as a dark silhouette against all the colors.

“You know,” I almost whispered as we walked to the glass railing, finding myself surprisingly not scared of how high we were. “I think you might need to take me to another date.”

Moriarty turned to look at me, and I felt the need to answer to his gaze so I forced my eyes off the beautiful scenery and focused on his eyes instead.

“Tomorrow, I already picked you an outfit,” he told me with the self-pleased smile again.

“You really are fascinating,” I told him with a smile, my voice only a hint louder than a whisper.

His dark eyes flickered with something I had never seen before. I didn’t know what it was but it made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. “So are you,” he soon told me with a hoarse voice.

His dark, warm, beautiful eyes were slowly coming closer to me, and before I knew it, I closed my eyes and felt a pair of warm, soft lips against mine. My arms quickly found their way around his neck as his hands grabbed me firmly by my waist and pulled me closer.

He definitely needed to take me on another date.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank for reading and hope you enjoyed!


End file.
